What An Expert Says – We contacted Professor Michael Noone, the former Air Force Judge Advocate General (JAG) and current Professor of Law at the Catholic University in Washington DC. We forwarded the full text of our press release and asked him about the status Missing-Captured. Here is his response:
"I share your concern over the status of missing service personnel. My quote was in response to an inquiry regarding the term "enemy prisoner of war" which is not in the Geneva Conventions but is in a DoD Directive. In response to your inquiry, I would make the same response: that "missing/captured" is not a Geneva Convention term. As you know, the Third Convention is intended to protect captives - POWS - , so it's not surprising that it's silent on MIAs. The fact that neither term used by DoD is found in the Convention, doesn't make the term illegal, but does raise the kinds of concerns your organization expresses in the press release."